


Understanding

by Kyriathe



Series: All in the Family [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5+1 Things, Again, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood, Character Death, I'm sorry Holts, Kissing, Major Character Injury (mentioned), Multi, POV Lance (Voltron), Polyamory, Pseudo-Incest, Shiro does not handle vampirism well, Vampire Family, vague ages all around, vampire families are a little messed up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 04:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18439250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyriathe/pseuds/Kyriathe
Summary: Five times Lance asks if his family regret joining him in it, and one time someone asks him.(The responses vary. Also, Lance kisses all of them.)





	1. Chapter 1

"Do you regret it? That I said yes, back then?" he asks Allura, in a moment of desperation. 

Earlier, another victim of Zarkon's court closed their eyes rather than accepting his offer of turning on Allura's behalf, and he can't help feeling like a failure. Allura deserves a family, a big one made of people who love her, and while he does what he can there, he doesn't feel like he's helping at all with expanding it. Maybe if he was better at talking, or quicker to find people before they became bodies, Allura would have more support than just him.

He tries, he really does. It just doesn't always feel enough. Even knowing some of it is just frustrated instincts doesn't help. Or knowing that of course some people would prefer peace to an uncertain future, or that people who have met Zarkon's court are going to find it hard to believe not every vampire is completely a monster. At least, Lance doesn't think they are. Allura isn't human, obviously, but she's more humane than a lot of people Lance has met.

Allura looks at him, those strange-coloured eyes meeting his, and laughs. "All the time," she says, cool as always, but she reaches for his hands. He's always liked that about her, the strange play between stiff and soft, and it takes the edge off the comment. Allura doesn't mean it that harshly, anyway; he knows the sharper edge of her tongue, and this is not even close, or very serious. "You are a _terrible_ childe, Lance. And yet- I wanted a family, and you are that."

He turns his hands in hers, holding on. Usually the familiar grasp helps ground him, but it's not quite enough this time. "You could have had a different family. A better one," he says, low and a little raw, because as much as he loves seeing her more playful side, this is important to him. Family matters to Lance, and he hates the feeling of letting his down. He would even without the bond between them, that not entirely natural respect and adoration that he still wouldn't give up for anything.

"Oh, Lance." Allura sighs, and leans down to kiss him, unbending to open affection, teasing falling away as she realises he means it. "Different, perhaps. Better is a matter of opinion." She smiles again, no mockery at all, and he's reminded that for all she's powerful, she's still almost as young as she looks by vampire standards. "We're still here, aren't we? And neither of us is lost to instinct, either. Doesn't that mean something?"

It does. So many turned don't handle the change well, he knows, ending up suicidally reckless or bloodthirsty or apathetic. He's seen it. Sometimes he can find pride in the fact he's still mostly himself, if a little more pragmatic now and devoted to his saviour, whether she thinks of herself that way or not. It just doesn't mean quite enough, in the moment.

"I'm pretty sure _anyone_ could do that, princess," he says, and the nickname falls off his tongue warmly, rather than the outrageous flirting it originated from. "Especially around you. But if that's enough for you, i guess it's enough."

"I wouldn't trade you for anyone I've met." Allura keeps his gaze, still smiling faintly, no longer offended by the nickname as she used to be. 

He's glad, because it lets himself believe he might be her knight. Someone who can genuinely defend her, even if she usually looks after herself. It's also nice to have something between the two of them that he started, something that lets him believe he gives back what he gets.

Even if that belief is a little thin on the ground today.

"No-one?" He's pushing, but he needs it, and Allura grants him what he needs.

"No-one," she says, and pulls him closer, and he goes willingly, neck bared. She bites down, activating the bond between them, the awe and need to obey that she could force on him and rarely does. She doesn't often need to do that; Lance loves her, and she has all his respect entirely voluntarily, even if he knows his way of showing it can still be obnoxious. But she knows him well enough to know the gesture is surprisingly helpful at reminding him that he is now and always will be hers.

That, and the way she whispers his name as she pulls away, and when he looks at her, a little dazed from the pressure, adds the word _mine_ in a pleased tone.


	2. Chapter 2

"Do you regret saying yes?" Lance asks Hunk, watching him stare at a bottle of blood as he holds it a little too tightly. It probably makes him the worst friend-slash-elder-slash-family ever that he hasn't really stopped to think about it before, but- Hunk is kinder than Lance, in some ways. Lance cares about the people closest to him _first_ , before he cares about strangers. Hunk cares for everyone, from what Lance has seen.

And now Hunk is, like Lance, technically a monster. Lance has had time to make peace with that, the edges worn soft with how much affection he has for Allura. Hunk is still fairly new to the whole thing. It wouldn't be a surprise if he hated the entire thing, especially the bit where he now is supposed to want to bite living people. Living people just like Hunk was, not that long ago. Like Lance was, much longer ago, and barely misses any more.

Hunk turns the bottle around a few times, still staring at it, before he pulls a face and drinks from it. Lance knows stored blood always tastes a little stale and weird, especially with the strange chemicals Allura adds to it to keep it drinkable. But it's easier than trying to feed a new vampire on actual people, especially a new vampire not quite in tune with his new instincts yet. Less chance of discovery and risk. Less chance of losing him to bloodlust, or starvation.

Lance already doesn't want to lose the newest member of his family, as protective of him as he is of Allura, although for different reasons. Weird vampire instincts, maybe, or maybe just that he's sure Hunk could be an excellent friend and also is very nice to curl up with and makes Lance's long-still heart feel like it's still beating when he occasionally smiles. He'd be a little more upset by that, but after dealing with the initial angst of being a frequently hungry predator, realising he likes a boy is kind of not _that_ huge. He's just going to blame it on more weird vampire things.

Hunk is taking a while to answer, though, and Lance reaches over to nudge him carefully, a friendly prompt. "I just want the truth," he says, more or less honestly. He's _hoping_ the answer isn't that Hunk regrets everything, because he doesn't want that stain on the relationship he wants from Hunk, but if it is he'll just have to work with it. Find something that makes it worth it, show him things he's never been able to do before.

"...I miss cooking," Hunk says, softly, and finally looks up at Lance with a rueful smile. "Sounds like a small thing, right? But I used to love cooking with my family."

Lance's human family are long gone, and Allura has been his only family for so long that he's almost forgotten them, but he remembers missing them. And he understands everything else that Hunk implies, the thousands of small, forgettable moments that come with family. He moves, settling in next to Hunk, one arm around surprisingly solid shoulders, because all _his_ small moments are tactile. From both families, for that matter. Hugs from his siblings and parents, Allura's hands on his wrists. Hunk's shoulders relaxing under his arm, a sign of trust and an accepted offer of friendship. "Not that small, no," he says.

Hunk sighs, but leans into the hold, accepting whatever comfort he seems to find there. "And I miss sunlight. And I really don't like the idea of fighting other vampires, because they're going to hurt me and I don't like being hurt. I don't want to be dead, although I guess I am anyway? That's a weird thought." He makes another face, thoughtful, and turns his head to look at Lance. "But I'm not _gone_ , and I guess I'm glad about that. And I have you and Allura now?" He makes a question of it.

Lance responds by kissing him, because that's how it works with Allura, when he's the one worried about his place. It's different with Hunk, none of the pressure, but but there's still the same moment of connection and recognition. Hunk is stiff for a moment, but it seems to be mostly surprise; he does respond willingly, once it's worn off. "You _always_ have me and Allura," Lance says firmly, and smiles, meaning it. "Although mostly Allura is the reliable one, around here. I'm the fun, charming one."

Hunk gives him a small, shy smile, but he seems more comfortable now. "...it's still complicated," Hunk settles on, after a pause, still trying to answer the question. Lance is mostly amused he hasn't tried to argue the reliable comment, but then he hasn't argued the charming either and that's a win in Lance's book. "But I don't think I'd say no if I had to make the choice again, and I don't think I'd rather take the option to sleep it off."

"Good," says Lance, and kisses him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, I love Hunk. I'm surprised his chapter was so short, but it does what it needs to; they're still best friends in this universe, they're just also in a thing. And vampires.
> 
> Sleeping it off will probably be explained in Shiro's chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Lance knows why Pidge joined them; entirely too smart, she'd gotten too close to Zarkon's court, been caught and been deemed useless to them and left for dead. Turning had seemed a last-gasp chance to carry on and find the father and brother she knew Zarkon must have. 

They found them, too, following the leads Pidge had already put together as a human, now backed up by vampire strength and three other people. Matt and Sam had both still been miraculously alive, although not entirely unscarred by time with vampires far crueller than Allura has ever been. But the rescue had been the important part, and he's proud of his family for that, for finding two people important to the newest member and saving them. And of Pidge, for staying. For being a fighter, in her own sharp way, for wanting to help even when her first family were together again.

It hadn't always been easy, of course. Pidge had wanted to stay in touch with her family, and Allura hadn't liked it much at the time. They'd had to keep an eye on the Holts, make sure Pidge's visits weren't tracked and either family put back in danger. It came close once or twice, and only Lance knows how close, carefully de-emphasising the danger to keep Allura happy and Hunk's nerves calm.

But it had made Pidge happy to spend time with them. And they already knew what she was, so there wasn't much risk from the Holt side of things- not like Lance or Hunk, with no safe way to explain the way they'd stopped ageing, the changes in them. Lance is sure he caught an occasional sad look from the Holts over Pidge's eternally-teenage head, but mostly, they'd still been happier to have her than not. He'd been happy for her to have them.

But it's the week after her father's funeral, and Pidge is _still_ the same as she was forty years ago when she made the deal, and always will be. She's still short and slender and her hair will never be long again. Her mother and brother are still alive, but obviously ageing, and there's nothing they can do to stop the inevitable, no matter how much Lance wishes he could. Matt and Colleen have made it clear enough they have no wish to be turned, even if it would let them stay with Pidge, and that's their choice to make.

Pidge will lose the rest of her family as well, and it might not be that far off.

She's clearly thinking about it, too, quieter than usual. When Lance catches her studying a picture of her family- taken before the turning, because Pidge is in it and her brother doesn't look much older at all- he drapes himself over the back of the chair and her shoulders in the way she says she hates and asks, softly, "Do you regret joining us?"

Pidge doesn't answer at first, just elbows him, but not hard, which means that she's happy with the attention. If she really hated it, she'd bite, Lance knows. Pidge is vicious when she wants to be, and Lance likes her that way. Eventually, when he shows no signs of leaving, she puts the photo down, hand rising to Lance's arm.

"...No," she says, decisive as she often is. "You guys held up your end of the deal. Without you, I wouldn't have had another forty years with him." But as she half-turns her head to look at Lance, her hand is still clenched around Lance's arm, and there's something in her expression that isn't quite as fierce as usual. He's not used to it, and it doesn't suit her.

Pidge has made a very good vampire, frankly, approaching the whole thing pragmatically. She's even found a few tricks Lance didn't know, just by testing her powers in ways he would never have thought of. And she's smart, much smarter than him. He has very little but admiration for the youngest member of his family, particularly her ability to destroy him verbally if she's in the mood. But she is still the youngest, and seeing her even a little uncertain makes Lance on edge. He nudges his nose against her cheek, hoping for either a smile or the unimpressed look she's mastered. Instead, she turns a little further, catching him in a kiss, a little urgent, and he knows she's looking for that connection they all share now. He's happy to give it, letting her lead it, be as demanding as she needs right now to feel the other half of her family still there with her.

"Some more years with them, for eternity with us," he says, still pushing a little, once she pulls back. "With _me_." He adds a grin, bright and cheerful, and only a little feigned, because being with Pidge does genuinely make him happy even if she does like to utterly ruin his ego.

"Ugh, I take it back. Not even getting to watch science being made for the rest of forever makes up for _that_ ," she says, but she's still not actually pushing him away and it's not said as viciously as he knows she can manage. She pats the seat next to her, instead, and Lance takes her up on the offer because it's the self-sufficient Pidge making it. If she's asking, she needs it. 

He does choose to go over the back of the couch rather than waste time going around- that, and because it's another distraction. Pidge does give him a look then, but she's also curling into him, and that's more indicative of how she feels. Pidge isn't like Lance in a lot of ways, more independent, less openly affectionate- but she's still family. And she still makes it clear, in her own way, that the rest of them are her family too, as ferocious in their defence as Lance is.

He can give up a lot of time, if she needs it. She'd do the same for him.

"We're here," he says, more softly, and Pidge closes her eyes and kisses him again, less desperate.

"I know," she replies, and Lance can hear certainty, and it's all he needs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is... difficult? She's a lot smarter than I am, tbh, and she knows who she is.
> 
> But I figured her and Lance would probably bond over being utterly ruthless in the face of danger to their family, particularly with weird vampire instincts pushing them on.
> 
> I'm really hoping posting this encourages me to finish it, but Shiro's chapter is actually A Monster, whoops, so... hopefully.

**Author's Note:**

> I was trying to write this as one long one-shot, but... Shiro's bit is fighting me, and I like the bits I have, even the relatively short ones. Chapter order is Allura, Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, Keith. Warning in advance that Shiro's chapter gets a little violent because Shiro is not handling trauma or weird new instincts well, and Keith's might include his actual turning.
> 
> Yes, this is supremely self-indulgent and my vampire dynamics here are messed up in ways that would be very unhealthy for real humans. Luckily for me, in this universe they're mostly not.
> 
> As always, I don't use @adistantsea on tumblr much, but I get notifs there if you want to chat and also posted a little more on the way I imagine this universe to work.


End file.
